Mining for Closure: Policies, practises and guidelines for sustainable mining and closure of mines

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environment, security and mining for closure

with the signing of Declaration of the High-Level Panel of the Sub-regional Conference included as Appendix A to this report. The declaration welcomes the Environment and Security Desk Assessment Study “Reducing Envi- ronment and Security Risks from Mining in South Eastern Europe” (Peck, 2004) and the UNEP report “Environmental Assessment of the Tisza River Basin” (Burnod-Requia, 2004) as a basis for priority set- ting and action planning towards reducing and mitigating the environmental, health and security risks from mining in South Eastern Europe and the Tisza River Basin. Further, it welcomes and en- dorses this document – the Environment and Se- curity report “Mining for Closure: policies, practices and guidelines for sustainable mining and closure of mines in South Eastern Europe and the Tisza River Basin” – as a guide and checklist for reducing and mitigating the environmental, health and security risks from mining practices. This document has the following form: Section 1 of this document seeks to outline the challenge and the need for this work; Section 2 is then used to establish the rationale for best environmental practice in mining – or Mining for Closure as it will be termed here; Section 3 the outlines the impor- tant stakeholders in mining and a manner of as- sessing their relative salience; Section 4 provides a discussion of the mechanics of mine closure and abandonment; Section 5 then presents a summary framework or principles for mining in SEE/TRB and delineates the next steps forward. 1.1 introduction Increasing expectations for environmental pro- tection, desires for reduced human health risks, competition for land, and the increasing value of the natural environment as recreational space have led to marked improvements in regulatory require- ments and mining practice in a number of coun- tries. Many miners have introduced management policies, practices and technologies that markedly reduce the environmental harm caused by mining (Environment Australia, 2002b; Gammon, 2002;

This document aims to present a basis for action within South Eastern Europe (SEE) and within the Tisza River Basin (TRB) towards the development of corporate practice, regulatory frameworks, gov- ernance guidelines and/or financial and insurance markets suitable for the support of a modern min- ing industry. In particular, this document wishes to present a number of options and ideas that can be applied to address the funding and execution of mine closure and mine rehabilitation while still achieving conditions suitable for new and ongoing mining activities. It is perceived by the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative partners that the efforts by in- ternational bodies to address this issue and provide guidance to national and international institutions in their role as stakeholders in mining activities re- main insufficient. This important deficiency in in- ternational action has serious implications for the SEE/TRB region. As part of this process the draft document was launched at the Sub-regional Conference on “Reduc- ing Environment and Security Risks from Mining in South Eastern Europe and the Tisza River Basin (TRB)” conducted in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 11-14 May 2005. The sub-regional conference drew high-level par- ticipation of Mr. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director, Mrs. Sulfina Barbu, Minister of Environ- ment and Water Management of Romania, and Mr. Miklos Persanyi, Minister of Environment and Water of Hungary. It was attended by representa- tives from a range of countries and jurisdictions including: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bul- garia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo- nia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo (territory under UN administration), Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Hungary. The objective of the Conference was to draw up an action programme to reduce environment and security risks from mining in the region, includ- ing further assessment and pilot projects at high- risk sites, and endorse guidelines for sustainable mining and closure of mines. The event concluded

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MINING FOR CLOSURE